Good morning. A new week starts with one worry off the table for most households, and a busy few days ahead for anyone who pays by phone.
In today's newsletter: the bank strike that is not happening, a Brazilian jet maker picks its Indian partners, and Serbia's president steps down to run for prime minister.
What's Happening This Week
Mon: UPI fee case in Supreme Court. The Supreme Court hears a plea against the 0.4% merchant fee on UPI payments above ₹2,000, due to start on October 15. |
Mon-Tue: AIIB meeting in Qatar. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attends the AIIB annual meeting, a lender where India is a founding member and among the largest shareholders. |
Fri: 'No UPI Day' protest. Mobile phone retailers plan a protest on October 2 against the new UPI fee, so some shops may push cash or cards. |
Later this week: US jobs data. A US jobs report and inflation data will test the path of US interest rates, which drives foreign money flows into Indian stocks. |
Bank unions defer three-day strike after late-night deal with IBA
The United Forum of Bank Unions has deferred the nationwide strike that was due to run from Monday, September 28, to Wednesday, September 30. The call came after talks with the Indian Banks' Association on Sunday night.
The main demand is a five-day banking week with every Saturday off. Today banks close only on the second and fourth Saturdays. Unions also want changes to the performance-linked incentive for senior officers, better pensions and a return of the Old Pension Scheme.
Nothing is settled yet. A high-level IBA and union committee will be formed immediately to look at making the remaining Saturdays holidays and find a solution acceptable to customers. On the incentive scheme, IBA will propose changes to the government.
Branches, cheque clearing and counter services should run normally through the month-end, so salary credits, EMI debits and cash withdrawals this week are not caught up in a shutdown. If the committee does agree to all Saturdays off, plan branch visits for weekdays; discussions will now focus on the five-day week.
The five-day week is not a new ask. Unions say IBA already agreed to it in the March 2024 wage settlement, and it has been waiting for government approval since, which is why a bankers' committee alone cannot close the issue.
Embraer picks Mahindra for IAF's 60-plane transport tender, Adani for civil jets
Brazil's Embraer said Mahindra will be its partner for the Indian Air Force's 60-aircraft Multi-Role Transport Aircraft programme, offering its KC-390 Millennium. For commercial planes it will work with the Adani Group.
Embraer said the choice will not change even though Adani has also received the request for proposal for the military deal. The KC-390 will compete with the C-130J offered by Tata and Lockheed Martin.
The jet carries up to 26 tonnes and is built for cargo, troops, air-to-air refuelling, medical evacuation and firefighting. For India, the contest decides which private group gets a large military aircraft line at home.
Serbia's Vucic resigns as president to run for prime minister
Aleksandar Vucic resigned as Serbia's president on Sunday, seven months before his term ends, after nearly two years of student-led protests. He plans to run in the October 25 snap parliamentary election and could become prime minister if his party wins.
The protests began after a station canopy collapse in Novi Sad in November 2024 killed 16 people, which many blamed on corruption. His party now faces a student movement and a pro-Western alliance, and early presidential elections will follow.
Breaking.exe
Gaming money trail. The Enforcement Directorate attached assets worth ₹442 crore, including a villa and fixed deposits, linked to shareholders of RummyCulture's parent Gameskraft in a money laundering case. |
Boeing MAX fix. Boeing found a software glitch in the automated flight guidance system of MAX planes and told airlines to reset the system after a missed approach as a precaution. |
Meta AI flaw. Meta strengthened its safety warning for its Muse AI agent after a researcher found a flaw that could have exposed a user's emails and files stored in their cloud account. |
HR systems hacked. Google said the ShinyHunters hacking group has widened its attacks on Oracle's PeopleSoft, the software many large employers use to run payroll and HR. |
Finance 101
Greener ports. The World Bank's private arm IFC will lend $70 million to Jawaharlal Nehru Port so docked ships can plug into shore power instead of burning fuel, India's first maritime 'blue financing'. |
IPO queue grows. Trans ACNR Solutions and eight other companies filed draft IPO papers with SEBI, the first step before selling shares to the public, including Maharashtra Oil Extractions seeking up to ₹370 crore. |
Fortis responds. After the Supreme Court allowed a forensic audit, Fortis said it was a complete stranger to the Daiichi and Singh brothers dispute, a long legal fight its shareholders watch closely. |
Pangaea Revisited
Swiss vote. About 70% of Swiss voters rejected a strict definition of neutrality that would have curbed cooperation with Nato and ended sanctions on Russia. |
UK bomb plot. British police arrested five men on terrorism charges after explosives were found in vans near an RAF base used by the US military, and are checking whether Iran was behind it. |
Af-Pak border. Afghanistan said it killed 28 fighters who crossed from Pakistan and accused Pakistani intelligence of training them, a charge Islamabad has not answered. |
Nepal avalanche. An avalanche at the Himlung Himal base camp in Nepal killed two and left 10 missing after burying a tent sheltering climbers and support staff. |
Also, Also, Also
Kohli hits 15,000. Virat Kohli passed 15,000 ODI runs with an unbeaten 139 off 88 balls as India chased 296 against the West Indies in 41.4 overs. |
Rajasthan civic polls. The BJP won control of 204 civic boards in Rajasthan against the Congress's 96, including seven of nine in the tribal districts of Banswara, Dungarpur and Pratapgarh. |
UP floods. Heavy rain has killed 56 people in three days in Uttar Pradesh, with flood-like conditions in several districts. |
Ads before movies. A consumer who sat through 17 minutes of ads before a film won ₹75,000 from PVR INOX in consumer court. |